Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey says he is pushing to equip every fire truck and police cruiser in Norfolk County with a drug that can reverse an otherwise-fatal opiate overdose, making it the first county in the nation to do so.

The life-saving drug, naloxone, has prevented hundreds of overdose deaths on the South Shore since Quincy police officers began carrying it in 2010 and has been adopted by a growing number of law-enforcement agencies. Morrissey said Thursday that his office has organized county-wide training in Canton next month to encourage other towns to begin administering the drug, also known by the brand name Narcan.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we are in a war, particularly on pain medication,” Morrissey said. “Every day, you have to get up and you have to get ready for war.”

The impact of the naloxone deployment over the last 14 months has had a striking effect on the South Shore, which has been at the forefront of using the drug to respond to what many see as an opiate addiction epidemic fueled by painkiller abuse.

Quincy police officers first began carrying naloxone in October 2010 as part of a Department of Public Health pilot program and have used it to reverse 223 overdoses since, according to Lt. Patrick Glynn, head of the Quincy police drug unit. In Weymouth, it was firefighters who joined the pilot program the following March and began carrying the drug, which they’ve used to reverse 58 overdoses.

“They would be dead if we didn’t do what we did,” said Weymouth Fire Chief Keith Stark. “We saved 58 people’s lives.”

Braintree firefighters saw firsthand this week how quickly naloxone can make a difference.

Four hours after receiving training on the use of the drug Wednesday, a fire engine crew was called to an Elm Street home where a 24-year-old man was unconscious and turning blue, Lt. J. Edward Bulger said. The crew administered two nasal doses of naloxone and the man regained consciousness before an ambulance arrived.

The fire crew then used the drug again on Thursday evening, this time to revive a 20-year-old man on Commercial Street.

“In the past we have had to stand by and do our best for these patients until the arrival of an ambulance,” Bulger said in an email.

Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan said he is seeking $1,500 through a supplemental budget to buy the town a supply of naloxone and wants to get the drug into all fire trucks and police cruisers in town. He said there is a “growing sense of urgency” as the town works to fight back against overdose deaths.

“We were able to literally save a life last night,” he said. “Unfortunately – I have to use that word – there is a need to have our first responders fully trained in the usage of Narcan, because it’s just happening everywhere.”

Page 2 of 2 - Morrissey said he is making it his mission to push for changes that would one day make naloxone available over the counter so friends and family members of opiate addicts could be prepared to help if the worst happens. Until then, he said, first responders must be prepared to use the drug before it’s too late.

Contact Neal Simpson at nesimpson@ledger.com or follow him on Twitter @NSimpson_Ledger.